NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb head coach Kevin O’Brien and the Lady Bison soccer program are pleased to announce that seven prospects have signed National Letters of Intent to become members of the Lipscomb women’s soccer team beginning in the fall of 2012.

The program added talent all over the field to combat the loss of an outstanding senior class featuring Meghan McGuire, Danielle Bethke and Kirsten Heikkinen.

“We’re very proud to have these girls joining the Lipscomb family,” O’Brien said. “They each come from strong club environments that make them well-prepared to transition into Division I soccer.

“I will continue to search for three or four more players to add to the 2012 class. We need greater depth and competition here and I will turn over each and every stone until I finalize a group that will make an immediate, positive impact on the program.”

Two of the signees are Tennessee products. JoAnn Street is a right back from nearby Franklin High School, which won the Division II girls state title in 2011.

Forward Caroline Chadwell hails from Harding Academy in Memphis. She was an all-state performer in 2011 and four-time team MVP.

The defense is getting a boost, with a total of four athletes coming to Nashville that can hold down the backline. Megan Miller (Ft. Wright, Ky.) and Alex Hickey (Oklahoma City, Okla.) were both state champions in 2011. Miller’s came with her Notre Dame Academy squad, and she was instrumental in allowing just 15 goals all season on the way to a championship.

Hickey was a three-time all-district performer for Heritage Hall High School and was a member of four state championship club teams with the Oklahoma Football Club’s ’94 girl’s squad (2007, 2009-11).

Emily Schuler from Charlotte, N.C. will help the Lady Bison either on the attack or on defense. The two-way player was a two-time All-Region athlete at Myers Park High School.

Center midfielder Molly Bray was All-State her senior year at Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma. She comes from a family with a rich soccer tradition; her brother Mike was a four-year starter at Southern Nazarene University and her brother Matt is a sophomore at Missouri State.

Leah Wood, a midfielder/forward combination from Cincinnati, played for the vaunted Cincinnati United Soccer Club, which produced 16 collegiate signees during this recruiting period.

O’Brien will continue on the recruiting trail, with upcoming recruiting trips both regionally and nationally. He may also venture abroad in search of talent.

Check LipscombSports.com for more information on the Lady Bison soccer team, and follow us on Twitter (@LU_WSoccer) and like us on Facebook (Lipscomb Women’s Soccer).